Air ducting is commonly used in vehicles to direct conditioned air from a heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) system to desired locations within the vehicle. Some vehicles include such air ducting that directs conditioned air flow from an HVAC system to a rear of the vehicle, including to an area disposed behind a second row of seats in the vehicle (e.g., to a third row of vehicle seats). Such ducting is often routed along the side sill member of the vehicle and often directly on an upper side of the side sill member. One challenge with running the air ducting along the side sill member is that egress and ingress may occur for the vehicle over the side sill member at the location along which the ducting is provided. For example, air ducting may be provided along an upper side of a side sill member at the location of a rear door opening (e.g., a rear door opening provided at the location of a second row of seats with the air ducting providing conditioned air to a third row of seats disposed behind the second row).
Such air ducting may be provided for purposes of providing conditioned air to a rear of the vehicle, such as behind the rear door opening along which the air ducting is provided. In one arrangement, the ducting is disposed below a rear step garnish to a third row seating area. Such ducting can be formed of blow molded plastic, but this typically requires separate features to be molded into the step garnish member to provide adequate structural support while simultaneously providing sufficient space for the blow molded duct therebelow. This ultimately results in inefficient use of space. In particular, the stepping space is reduced (i.e., to provide adequate space for the ducting, the step garnish or a portion thereof is elevated relative to the sill member thereby reducing stepping space), which results in the step being higher from the ground. Additionally, the step garnish is harder to install and/or it is heavier.